20 Best White Wood Stain (2022 Updated)

I’ve used stain for years, and never had this many problems. Applied one, extremely thin coat and wiped it off as the instructions said. After 24 hours it is still not dry. Was told by customer support that that was normal because I had to wipe it down with paint thinner, then reapply again to get the desired color.

Nowhere on the can does it state this. Then got their color matched wood putty that says right on the label that it is for nail holes. Put it in a test hole, and in 3 days, it’s as tacky as the day I put it in.

Read the tiny writing on the back and found where it says “non hardening”. I can’t even wrap my head around why you’d even make a product that does not harden. Finally bout a “paintable stainable” wood filler.

To their credit, it sands easily and beautifully uniform if you plan on painting over it. However , it is not stainable as they claim. I put a drop of their darkest stains directly on it, and it still will not uptake the stain and what it does absorb does so in an ugly grainy way that stands out like a sore thumb.

I understand that every company has a doozy every now and again, but this is the worst collection of products I’ve ever used.

Every once and a while I find myself trying to apply a stain to a piece while also trying to maintain some semblance of natural color. Minwax has a few offerings I have tried. One is the Natural 209 wood finish; this is an oil stain with a slight red base.

No it won’t turn the piece red, but it does tip that direction as opposed to yellow. Boiled Linseed Oil is the opposite, providing a natural look with a hint of a yellow base. But when working with Minwax’s Tung oil, I have seen the best and most natural results on Maple, Sande, and Birch; both solid wood and plywood applications.

If you love the look of your unfinished project, Minwax Tung Oil is the best way to finish without losing the natural charm.

I’ve had a can of the Kona stain forever and have used it on many projects. The color is deep and rich. Always do a test spot first because, depending on the wood, the color will come out different, always beautiful, but differ000000000ent.

It’s easy to use and I’ve never had streaking or splotching with it. It is oil-based so I always use disposable tools or simply wipe it on with a blue paper shop towel. Once top-coated with poly, it looks utterly amazing.

I went against everything in my brain telling me not to buy a stain online. wow did it pay off! This stain is amazing! It absolutely coats in 1 coat and leaves a really rich grey color behind, I used a rag to rub some of it off so it was a bit more rustic, however I love the stain either way! Great product!.

Love the product. Applies so easy. I use it on my farm wood signs to stain It is washable. I don’t not apply a coating after. My sign has been outside all last winter and this summer. Looks as good as it was first done.

I just purchased an older make up vanity that I wanted to re-purpose for my bedroom. I sanded the vanity down in the wood was absolutely stunning so I didn’t want to cover the woodgrain and paint I wanted to give it color but also show the beauty of the wood.

I decided to give this mini wax color wash and try. I am absolutely blown away with the results. The color is so beautiful and it pulls the wood green detailing perfectly giving it color but not washing it out to where you cannot see how perfect the wood pattern actually is.

This stuff is really easy to work with. It was not hard to use i at all. It left a beautiful finish and absolutely stunning color. One of the major bonus is that it dried within a couple hours and there’s hardly any odor to it at all.

The finish is absolutely stunning it looks amazing on my new vanity. I am so so glad that I picked mini wax instead of using paint. This stuff is perfect for detailing wood giving it that vibrant color that allows you to still have a natural wood grain with a little pop of color.

they have a few different finishes to pick from but I picked the gray and it’s absolutely beautiful. A little bit of this stuff goes a long way I applied the first coat and could’ve stopped there but I applied a second coat to give it a little bit more color and then I absolutely love the way it turned out.

I will be detailing the woodwork in my bathroom with this stuff next using a different finish. If you’re new to using mini wax this is one that will be very simple for you to use. The mini wax is very easy to work with it you should not be intimidated and you will be very happy with the finished product.

I received the miniwax design series color wash, and can’t wait to use this to whitewash my porch swings this spring. I’ve used many stains from this brand in the past, and I have never been disappointed with the final product.

I did give this product a trial on some natural wood pieces in my home and I think the color will be beautiful when finished. The color is buildable, so you can start with a coat, and build it for deeper cover.

It does seem that a small amount will go a long way, as it does provide great coverage. But again, the color is buildable, so you could go for a lighter whitewashed appearance with a natural wood grain, or build it for deeper coverage.

This product is made for indoor use, so exposure to outdoor elements is not recommended. I do plan to use on my screened in porch. The product can be used over wood stains for an antiqued appearance.

This would be beautiful for use on indoor fireplaces or exposed bricks.

I’ve used the Minwax brand for years but always skipped the pre-staining conditioner until now. After some disappointing staining results on a pine desk (areas of the wood turned black instead of the light brown color that I was going for), I decided to try this product for my pine rounds project.

It was easy to apply with a rag. It soaked right in. I wiped off the excess after 15 mins and applied the Minwax honey stain. I also stained the backside of the rounds that weren’t conditioned to compare.

In the end, there was not a huge difference between the conditioned and bare surface after staining. However, the pre-conditioned side matched the color reference more closely. It had a slight extra sheen and the knots didn’t get black so that’s a plus.

My personal opinion is that it’s not necessary for all staining projects but if you’re working on something that you want as perfect as possible, this will give the finish a little boost when it’s all said and done.

Not a very consistent product on its own. Medium to larger projects require additives, but are sold separately. Sometimes the project comes out great the first shot, sometimes it takes a redo or two.

I see other reviewers that had the same issue even with extender. Oil based stains work far better and don’t require all the fancy additives to get a consistently good and even stain. I’ve been on the fence with this stain.

Smaller projects it can be flawless. Larger projects. I have to say the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, and all kinds of prayers in hopes that it works 😅Sooooo back to oil based stains!.

So this review is not a dig on general finishes. They make great products. Some I swear by. This is not one of them. On bare oak, especially right angles and raised panel doors, almost impossible to get great results which are automatic with oil based.

Raises the grain, dries so fast you have no time to work it out without streaks and blotches. Also does not penetrate worth a dam and leaves very slight grain marks that did not take the stain. I’m an experienced wood worker and have always used oil based stain with stellar results.

After this project is done, I will never use water based again. I’ll deal with the odor and extra time to get good results. Woodwork is a labor of love and worth some extra time.

This stuff was infuriating because its not like oil based where you wipe it on and then wipe it off and have all the time in the world. I tried doing a 36″x47″ panel with this and first i tried hand applying then wipe off and it was already dry so i had no time to wipe off.

Failed. Then i tried spraying from my Fuji Q5 to increase speed and wipe off, again dried too fast and failed. 3rd test i did was fhe magic ticket. Spray it on thin but coat it all and DONT TOUCH IT, and it turns out fantastic, although very dark.

So the key with this stuff is dont listen to can instructions and basically treat it like paint.

It’s definitely a stain and not a paint, or actually it’s more like a dye. But as a stain, applied and wiped off, it’s wonderful. If it’s not wiped off, everything above the stained substrate can be removed with water.

This means that a coat of urethane or varnish will temporarily protect it but if water gets in through a scratch or scuff it will bloom and color will come out. (note that if you are using an acrylic i.

e. watersoluble coating, it can smear the Unicorn Spit when you are applying it, so be careful about that) Just something to keep in mind.

It’s great!!! Really vibrant color to add just enough bold look to a normal boring project. But it didn’t work for what I wanted to use it on glass beads for a chandelier and still have light shine through them but its not translucent like I hoped it would be.

anyone know a product I could use on glass that’s bright colors and still able to have light shine thru? Like a stained glass window paint. ? I could use any suggestions please and thank you.

It was the last bottle they had and it was the perfect color for the deer antler ring I made for my fiance. He loves the color orange and this glides on smooth and doesn’t look cakey and flake off. It needed a couple coats but was amazing and I know he’s gonna love his wedding ring.

Michaels was the only store I was able to find unicorn spit.

First things first, I love that there are so many color choices for this stain! It took me forever to decide betqeen a fun color or traditional stain, but in the end I went with Buckeye Brown. I also loved that it was low odor, so I could use it inside without irritating my mini pigs sensitive snout.

Minwax has a great tutorial on how to use this product on their Youtube channel, and i highly recommend checking it out before starting your project. I unfortunately could not find the Pre Stain conditioner that is recommended, it was sold out at the 2 locations I went to, and I feel like my results would have been a little better if I had used this before the stain.

This product IS thicker than I expected, and it is a bit messy, so just prepare your work area accordingly. I tested the stain on an extra piece of wood first so I knew how long to leave it on before wiping, and found that a minute and a half was just about right, and a synthetic pad worked better to wipe that a rag did.

Overall the process took longer than I was anticipating, but it turned out pretty well. Seriously do yourself a favor and watch the YouTube video, it really did help me to better prepare my project. I will definitely be purchasing this product in different colors for other projects in the future, cant wait to try the fun colors next!.

I used this product to stain a 6ft x 15in board that is part of a piece of furniture I built. The color was simply white, semi-transparent. I followed the directions to apply the stain with a high quality synthetic brush.

When I went to wipe off the excess with a clean rag as instructed (immediately, within 2 min), I found that the rag stuck to the product as I tried to wipe. This made the result extremely splotchy. I tried again on the other side of the wood, this time using a rag to wipe the stain on and off.

I got similarly terrible results. I stripped the splotchy stain off to start over, but before doing so I called Minwax to get some advice. After explaining what I was experiencing, the individual ended up suggesting that I try a damp rag to wipe off the excess instead of a dry one.

This did work a little better, but also removed most of the product. I decided to try something radical. I bought some plain Brillo sponges. I stirred the stain and then wiped some stain onto the sponge with the stirring stick to pre-wet it.

Then, I poured a stream of stain along the entire length of the board. I used the sponge to quickly spread the stain, and then made light passes across the board from end-to-end, with the grain, to gently smooth it out.

I held the sponge with both hands while doing this, being careful to minimize the amount of pressure applied. This technique gave me a pretty reasonable result. Minwax, please update the directions and provide a corresponding video to help people apply this product in a way that will actually work, considering this is an extremely thick and fast-drying stain.

So many people are wasting money, and worse a ton of time and effort trying to make this product work. It’s great to have such a wide variety of colors to choose from, but if people aren’t able to apply it then it becomes useless.

Have some compassion for all these poor folks. Thx!.

Tried 6 different stains and am very happy with Old Masters oil-based White Pickeling Stain. I bought a live edge coffee table on EBay and was really disappointed with the glossy deep yellow tone of the wood which did not show up in the EBay photos.

The original plan was to stain it Walnut. I tested a swatch of Verathane and Minwax oil based Walnut and Special Walnut and they looked terrible-‘flat’, unnnatural, and reddish. I then tried a Verathane oil based Weathered grey and a Behr water-based Classic grey and both looked blue and not natural.

I tried Behr Water based pickling and it barely colored the wood. The Old Master White Pickling Stain really ‘stained’ and lightened the wood and it looks very natural. I’m not sure what type of wood i have but i think its a very yellow-toned maple and now it looks like Eucalyptus toned.

Other reviews say you might get a pinkish tone and i do see a pinkish/ peach hue but only 5%. a very slight tonal shade-totally acceptable. I finished with a matte water-based Verathane finish to eliminate the yellow tones.

It took me a day or two to accept that my initial vision (walnut) wasn’t going to work with the wood i have, but now I am super happy with how it turned out. It looks great! In the future I will ALWAYS go with oil based which seems to penetrate the wood better and look natural.

I have used this stain in the past. It turned oak doors into a work of art. I recently used it on 6 panel pine doors. Also with beautiful results. Many compliments came my way. I use a soft cloth to apply the stain and rub with the grain.

I wait 24 hours and then apply polyurethane varnish. I am totally satisfied with this product. I showed the younger generations how to use it. They love it too.

I have used multiple quarts of this stuff in the American Walnut color. It does an amazing job to change up golden oak to a beautiful rich walnut color in cabinets, mantels, stair rails and the bar stools I just applied it to.

Thanks Max Warehouse for carrying this!!!.

This thick stain makes a quality wipe on effect, truly white. Coated it with a water based clear matte polyurethane.

I like the product, because it is easy to work with. It does a good job in covering the wood. I would recommend it for someone that does their own staining of wood.

I’d seen YouTube videos on the subject. I am small time carving wood – some decorations like tiki beads for my hats, small decorations for music case projects, etc. I wanted to color the wood good colors but can’t even find a good green at the local hardware store, and much more expensive.

This is good since can go as thick as a paint or thin with water to be a wood grain glaze. I reccomend some kind of sealant after giving int +24 hours to dry, like polycrylic but is amazing. If you want to lightly stain it’ll cover far FAR more than a $15 pint can some contemptuous there to keep the store from walking away on tiny legs worker will mix for you – think one drop+a capful of water for a small carved item – covering something thick/opaque equivalent to that much latex paint but very high fluidity/pigment so again quite worth it for coverage alone.

Going to buy more to experiment with some wild patterns and stuff based on YouTube videos but well worth it just to get Red, Green, Blue, Yellow tiki bead carvings without playing with very expensive exotic woods and/or buying huge cans of hardware store stuff.

We have a wood patio set from Ikea. Unfortunately the finish didn’t last and needed complete redo. Ikea was no longer selling the matching stain. This turned out good as it forced me to try this product.

After washing the set with some soapy bleach mixture I sanded all the top surfaces. Then applied the semi transparent stain and sealer in the custom mixed Sable color which is almost an exact match. The end result was amazing, looks better than new.

The key is making sure you don’t apply in direct sun as dries really fast. Aldo wet on wet if doing second coat. I don’t know how long it will last but should be much longer than the original finish.

Hello, I used Behr semi transparent stain on my deck after cleaning and prepping the surface. I applied 2 thin coats and it looked great. It was quite tacky for a long time as others have noted but this eventually resolved.

After the first winter the stain started to peel significantly and by the end of the first full summer it looked horrible. There is a portion of my deck that is covered and this has held up fine. I have now fully sanded the remaining surface in preparation of re-doing the project.

I am very reluctant to use this product again but need to do so to match the remaining covered deck surface. I would sure appreciate some advice and warranty coverage to repeat this process. Thanks so much.

I live in southern AZ, the sun makes any surface very hot. This stain begins to blister after 2 yrs. Then I have to sand the entire deck and benches before I can apply new coat. I use an air compressor to make sure the surface completely free of dust.

I use the recommended 2 coats, 24 hrs between coats. I apply this before our Monsoon season (starts early July) and it does really well repelling water. If you live in a part of the country where the temps are moderate, this stain may be perfect for you.